See General Forum to see what this is about. Here is a hypothetical first playthrough. I only did Round 1 (1880 Election Year). It took me about 5 hours to type and do this. It will be much faster if it ever becomes a board game, and faster still if it becomes a PC game. As this was done quickly, there are probably a few typos, and I could feasibly be off on the match, but you get the general idea. After playing through this, I may make some adjustments to how a round or turns are done. I wish to simplify it.

Political Party Board Game playthrough:

Set Up:

Republicanscontrol the Presidency (Rutherford B. Hayes), lead in presidential polling, maintain a minor lead in governors and dominate the Supreme Court, giving them 4 Political Points (PP). They get 16 more PP for being +1 on the Cash Meter. They lose 1 PP for being -1 on the Momentum Meter.

Total starting Political Points (PP) for Republicans: 20

Unity Meter: 2/3 (Likely 90% of cohesive support on bills)

Democratsmaintain a minor lead in the US Senate and the US House, giving them 2 Political Points (PP). They have a 0 on the Cash Meter, giving them 12 PP, and they have a +1 on the Momentum Meter.

The Game Board will have all relevant information regarding governors, Senators, US House, Presidential Polling, etc.

ROUND 1

Part 1: Both Parties draw 5 cards for their hand.They must play them all before the end of the round, if applicable.

Republicans, since they control the presidency, draws first. Reps draw:

- Presidential Popularity Card

- Speech Card

- Disharmony Card

- Loss of Governor Card

- Celebrity Endorsement

Democrats draw:

- Economy Card

- Campaign Blunder Card

- Strong Candidate Card

- Loss of Justice Card

- Party Spies

Part 2: Draw Event Cards:Republicans, since they control the presidency, also deal out and flip over all of the 1880 Event Cards. All legislative cards go to the Speaker, controlled by the Democrats, who has the option when to vote on bills, they all must be voted on by the end of the round..:

Species Resumptive Act

Presidential Convention and VP Selection

Campaign Issue: Civil War loyalties

Campaign Issue: Tariffs

Campaign Issue: Chinese immigration

Prohibition Law

Presidential Election Day

Part 3: Play hand cards or PP (optional) with Presidential Party going first.

Republicans pass

Democrats play Party Spies Card

[[Party Spies Card: Player points to a card in the opposing player's hand, which must be revealed]]

Democrat reveals Loss of Governor Card.

[[Loss of Governor Card: Opponent's governor dies or resigns from office. A special election takes place on election day. A die roll will determine who gets to select the governor that is removed.]]

Both parties wish to hold on to their PPs until later.

Part 4: Vote on Legislation (optional, at discretion of Speaker)

Democratic Speaker brings up Prohibition Law.

[[Prohibition Law: Voting in favor of the bill gives supporting party(s) +2 support in KS presidential poll, but -1, -2, or -3 in cash depending if the party is not preferring Reform, Federal Prerogative, and Social Welfare. Voting against the bill gives -1 support in KS, and -1, -2, or -3 in cash if the party prefers Reform, Federal Prerogative, and Social Welfare. If the bill becomes law, Speaker's party gains +1 momentum, and the party(s) supporting the bill move their platform one space in the direction of one of the following--Reform +2, Federal Prerogative +2, Social Welfare +1. If the bill fails, the party supporting the bill get -1 in Momentum. If none support the bill and it fails, then there is no further penalty. If it does not become law, Speaker can permanently discard the issue, or table for another time within the Gilded Age Era Card years (until 1896)]].

Both Republicans and Democrats, seeing no benefit for this bill at the time, oppose it. As there is no benefit for a formal vote, the Speaker does not bring it up for a vote. The Democratic Speaker, seeing no future benefit for this law, opts to discard it.

Both parties get -1 support in Kansas, resulting in a status quo.

The Speaker wishes to wait to vote on further laws until later in the year.

Republican player uses 4 PP, leaving him with 16 PP remaining to influence the nomination. Each PP allows a 5% boost to his preferred candidate. Republican player adds 20% to Blaine, giving Blaine 45%, taking 20% off from Garfield, who now has 30%.

The die is rolled and JA Garfield is nominated anyway. The party platform now moves from Mixed Reform/Tradition to Reform +1. Republicans now move up +2 in the polls in Ohio going from R+1 to R+3 in that state, pulling it out of battleground range.

Republicans now must select a VP not from Garfield's state in OH. Republican player selects a VP from NY, giving a +1 boost in that state, which goes from Mixed to R+1.

Die is rolled and TF Bayard is nominated president.The party platform now moves from +1 Self-Reliance to +2 Self-Reliance, from +1 Business to +2 Business, from Mixed Reform/Tradition to Reform +1.

Democrats must now select a VP not from Bayard's state of Delaware. Democratic player also selects a NY VP, bringing that state from R+1 back to Mixed.

Part 6: Play hand cards or PP (optional)

Republican plays Presidential Popularity Card

[[Presidential Popularity Card: If the president's party has this card, then it might be a positive. If the opposing party has the card, then it might be a negative for the president's party. Roll the dice presidential popularity.]]

Republican player rolls the dice, giving Republican Pres. Hayes a slight popularity boost. Republican momentum increased by 1, giving Republicans 1 more PP, and 17 PP left for the round.

Democratic player plays Loss of Justice Card.

[[A justice resigns or dies at random, according to a dice roll. The President must select a new justice (pick one of a Liberal, Swing, or Conservative ideology) to be confirmed by the US Senate. The Senate can attempt to block the Justice once. If blocked, the president must pick a new judge of a new ideology, and that one will stay on the court.]]

Dice are rolled and a Liberal Republican judge is removed. The Republican player has President Hayes select another Liberal Republican. As Democrats control the Senate, the Democratic player moves to block the pick. Both parties have 2/3 unity, making it likely that 90% of both parties will vote along party lines. Democrats control 56% of the Senate, so it is possible that the can block the judge, if they get a lucky roll for unity.

A Dice is rolled, and Republicans get that lucky roll for 100% unity, while Democrats get the expected 2/3 unity. With 61% of Senators opposing the Liberal Judge, Hayes must select a new judge of a different ideology. Republican player selects a Republican Swing judge, who then takes his seat on the court.

Both players decline to play anymore hand cards for the moment.

Democratic player decides to spend 1 PP, leaving him with 14 total PP to attempt to gain more Presidential support in Ohio, to bring it back into a battleground state. A roll of 12 and higher makes that possible. Democratic player rolls a 13, moving OH from R+3 to R+2.

Republican player decides to spend 1 PP to move his platform from Reform +1 to Mixed Reform/Tradition. He must roll as 12 or higher. After rolling a 15, Republicans move their platform from Reform +1 to Mixed Reform/Tradition.

Both parties decline to make any further Hand Card or PP moves at this time.

Part 7: Optional Legislation Vote (at the discretion of the Speaker):

The Democratic Speaker opts not to vote on the remaining law until later in the round.

Part 8: Presidential Campaign Issues:

Player must now react to the Three Major Campaign Issues for the 1880 Election.

Option B: Keep pensions as they are. Subsistence-level Federal pensions for Union Civil War Vets; all states to decide on Southern Civil War vet pensions. [-1 in momentum and cash if Social Welfare platform is +2 or higher; or if Self-Reliance is +2 or higher]

Option C: Work to reduce funding and prohibit expansion of the pension system, especially since only the North is favored in this system. [-1 support in the Northern states listed in option A, and +2 support in the Southern states listed in option A; -1 in momentum and cash if party prefers Social Welfare; +1 momentum and cash if party is Self-Reliance 2 or higher.

Republican player selects Option B.

Democratic player selects Option C.

Campaign Issue: Tariffs

Option A: Increase Tariff [+1 in momentum and cash if party prefers Protectionism, -1 in both if prefers Free Trade; +1 in all Protectionist bonus states]

Option B: Create a moderate Tariff [-1 momentum and cash if +2 or more on Protectionism or Free Trade, +1 in NY]

Option C: Decrease Tariff [+1 in momentum and cash if party prefers Free Trade, -1 in both if prefers Protectionism, +1 in all Free trade bonus states]

Republican player selects Option B

Democratic player selects Option C

Campaign Issue: Chinese Immigration

Option A: Ban Chinese from entering the country [+2 in all states with nativist bonuses; -1 in states with immigration bonuses; -1 cash and moment if party prefers immigration; +1 in cash and momentum if party is Nativist +2 or more]

Option B: Introduce quota system on Chinese immigration [+1 in nativist states; -1 in immigration states; -1 in cash and momentum if party prefers immigration; +1 in cash and momentum if party prefers nativism

Democratic Speaker must play final legislation cards, of which there is only one left.

[[Species Resumptive Act: Voting for the act nets +1 in NY, MA, NJ, DE, CT, RI, ME, MD; Voting against the act loses +1 in all states West of the Mississippi River. The Speaker's party gains +1 momentum if he ends up on the right side of the vote; otherwise the opposition party gets +1 momentum. Parties supporting the bill move their platform one spot toward mixed Reform/Tradition.]]

Both parties support the bill, a dice roll is not needed as success is guaranteed. State bonuses cancel each other out since both parties supported the bill. Democrats gain +1 momentum (1 PP), giving them 30 PP. The Democratic Party also moves from Reform +1 to Mixed Reform/Tradition.

Part 10: Final Card and PP Round. (All Cards and PP must be played):

Republicans will use Speech Card in NY in an attempt to gain +1 in presidential poll (he could have done another election in the state); Speech fails, but doesn't backfire, after a dice role.

Democrats play the economy card, which affects the other player's party if they have the President or the Speaker. The opponent has the President; therefore, the roll is to see if blame is placed on the President for an economic downtick. The dice is rolled, and it is successful. Republicans lose -1 in momentum. They are down to 19 PP.

Republican player discards the Disharmony Card since it would have been helpful prior to a Congressional vote, but not helpful here.

Democratic player used the Campaign Blunder Card for the NY Presidential poll (He could have chosen another election in the state). He rolls in his favor, and NY becomes D+1.

Republican player uses Celebrity Endorsement Card for the NY Presidential (He could have chosen another election in the state). He rolls in his favor, and NY returns to Mixed.

Democratic player uses Strong Candidate Card for the NJ gubernatorial election for this round. The card is left on the board as a reminder of the bonus until after the election.

Republican player placed Loss of Governor Card. Dice are rolled to determine who selects the Democratic governor to replace. Republican player loses the roll, so the Democratic player selects the MS governor. A Special Election will be held with all the other elections, with a Democratic likely to retake the seat.

All hand cards have been played, so players start using XP to increase their chances on election day.

State: AL (10)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+7

President: D+5

State: AR (6)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+4

President: D+5

State: CA (6)

Gov: R

Senate: M *R PP bonus succeeds

House: R+2

President: M

State: CO (3)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+2

President: R+1

State: CT (6)

Gov: R

Senate: M *R PP bonus fails; D PP bonus succeeds

House: R+2

President: M *R PP bonus fails; D PP bonus fails

State: DE (3)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+2

President: D+1 *D PP bonus succeeds

State: FL (4)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+3

President: D+2

State: GA (11)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+7

President: D+7

State: IL (21)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+7 *D PP bonus succeeds

President: R+1 *R PP bonus succeeds

State: IN (15)

Gov: D

Senate: D *R PP bonus fails

House: R+1 *D PP bonus succeeds

President: M *R PP bonus succeeds; D PP bonus fails

State: IA (11)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+9

President: R+3 *D PP bonus succeeds

State: KS (5)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+3

President: R+5

State: KY (12)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+10

President: D+3

State: LA (8)

Gov: D

Senate: M *D PP bonus succeeds

House: D+6

President: D+6

State: ME (7)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+5

President: R+1 *D PP bonus fails

State: MD (8)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+4

President: D+2 *D PP bonus succeeds

State: MA (13)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+9

President: R+4

State: MI (11)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+9

President: R+2 *D PP bonus fails

State: MN (5)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+2

President: R+6

State: MS (8)

Gov: Open *R PP bonus succeeds

Senate: M

House: D+6

President: D+7

State: MO (15)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+11

President: D+2 *D PP bonus succeeds

State: NE (3)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+2

President: R+6

State: NV (3)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+2

President: D+1

State: NH (5)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+4

President: R+1 *D PP bonus succeeds

State: NJ (9)

Gov: D *D PP bonus succeeds

Senate: D *R PP bonus succeeds

House: R+1

President: M *D PP bonus fails

State: NY (35)

Gov: R

Senate: M *R PP bonus succeeds; D PP bonus fails

House: R+14 *R PP bonus succeeds; D PP bonus succeeds

President: M *R PP bonus fails; D PP bonus succeeds

State: NC (10)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+4

President: D+3

State: OH (22)

Gov: R

Senate: D *R PP bonus succeeds

House: D+2 *R PP bonus fails; D PP bonus succeeds

President: R+1 *R PP bonus succeeds

State: OR (3)

Gov: D

Senate: D *R PP bonus fails

House: D+2

President: M *D PP bonus succeeds

State: PA (29)

Gov: R

Senate: M *R PP bonus succeeds

House: R+11 *D PP bonus succeeds

President: Mixed *R PP bonus succeeds

State: RI (4)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+3

President: R+6

State: SC (7)

Gov: R

Senate: D

House: D+5

President: D+7

State: TN (12)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+8

President: D+2

State: TX (7)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+4

President: D+7

State: VT (5)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+3

President: R+10

State: VA (11)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+7

President: D+5

State: WV (5)

Gov: D

Senate: D

House: D+3

President: D+1 *R PP succeeds

State: WI (10)

Gov: R

Senate: R

House: R+2 *R PP succeeds

President: R+3 *D PP succeeds

Part 11: Election Day--Final Turn of the 1st Round:

Results after dice roll are in CAPS and BOLD if Party flips the office

Gubernatorial Election:

AL (D)

MO (D)

MS (Open-D)

NJ (D)

SC (D)

Gubernatorial Results: Democrats hold every gubernatorial seat; Republicans still lead in governors overall.

Senate Elections (selected by the governors until the 17th amendment):

US House Results: Democrats maintain the lead with numbers about the same overall.

Presidential Election contested states:

CA R+1

CO R+1

CT R+2

DE D+1

IN R+1

IA R+2DEMS WIN

ME R+2

NH R+1

NJ MixedREPS WIN

NV D+1REPS WIN

NY D+1

OH R+2

OR D+1 REPS WIN

PA R+1

WV D+2

WI R+2

Result: Democrats take the powerful state of NY, as well as a surprise victory in Iowa. Yet, Republicans flip NV and OR, and win NJ, the most contested state. James A. Garfield defeats Thomas F. Bayard 185-184.

The two parties going into Round 2 (1881-1882-Midterms) are roughly the same strength as they were in Round 1. Overall, Republicans very slightly diminished Democratic leads in Congress, and they control the presidency for four more years.

THAT WAS GREAT! This is so awesome! I know this took a long time so I'm not gonna be upset at all if you say yes, but i'm assuming this was a one time run, not a series?

Definitely a one-time run, because I'm going to make some changes to simplify it. For instance, I'll probably allow cards and PP to be played at any time rather than having specific rounds for them. This will limit the number of steps and make it more fluid. I also think I'll get rid of either the cash or momentum meter, since they both produce the same thing. I'll probably call it the Party Enthusiasm Meter or something, and then just adjust the numbers. I need to figure out a way to better handle US Reps, because there's so many of them, tallying them is really tedious. I also want to here other people's feedback. Once I can simplify it, so that typing out a round takes only two hours, then I'll do a series.

Definitely a one-time run, because I'm going to make some changes to simplify it. For instance, I'll probably allow cards and PP to be played at any time rather than having specific rounds for them. This will limit the number of steps and make it more fluid. I also think I'll get rid of either the cash or momentum meter, since they both produce the same thing. I'll probably call it the Party Enthusiasm Meter or something, and then just adjust the numbers. I need to figure out a way to better handle US Reps, because there's so many of them, tallying them is really tedious. I also want to here other people's feedback. Once I can simplify it, so that typing out a round takes only two hours, then I'll do a series.

That's absolutely awesome. Best thing I've seen on here in a while. Where do you get the Data for Senate, Gubernatorial, and House races? Particular for the 19th century. And Lord forbid the 18th! I know you had proposed a 1788-2020 game.

That's absolutely awesome. Best thing I've seen on here in a while. Where do you get the Data for Senate, Gubernatorial, and House races? Particular for the 19th century. And Lord forbid the 18th! I know you had proposed a 1788-2020 game.

All the information is on Wikipedia. It's just who controls what seats in 1880. Or is there some other sort of data you are thinking about? State preferences is based on the major reasons they preferred one candidate or party over the others, and based on reaction to events. By 1880, NYC, NJ, for instance, was becoming relatively immigrant friendly as this bolstered the Democratic Party for those state's party machines. MA was still dominated by the Republican Party, which was very anti-Irish; although, they used them for cheap labor, similar to Texas Republicans that hate immigrants but hire illegal Mexican immigrants almost exclusively. California, Oregon, and Washington were also very anti-immigrant, only because the Chinese were arriving so rapidly with their strange customs. I tried to give each state at least one preferred stance, so the player has to consider their moves in order to gain in any particular state. Most of the states West of the Mississippi are for Reform, since they want changes to the parties that the Establishment East Coast doesn't want to accept (Inflationary currency, offices based on merit and not loyalty, labor laws, etc.).

All the information is on Wikipedia. It's just who controls what seats in 1880. Or is there some other sort of data you are thinking about? State preferences is based on the major reasons they preferred one candidate or party over the others, and based on reaction to events. By 1880, NYC, NJ, for instance, was becoming relatively immigrant friendly as this bolstered the Democratic Party for those state's party machines. MA was still dominated by the Republican Party, which was very anti-Irish; although, they used them for cheap labor, similar to Texas Republicans that hate immigrants but hire illegal Mexican immigrants almost exclusively. California, Oregon, and Washington were also very anti-immigrant, only because the Chinese were arriving so rapidly with their strange customs. I tried to give each state at least one preferred stance, so the player has to consider their moves in order to gain in any particular state. Most of the states West of the Mississippi are for Reform, since they want changes to the parties that the Establishment East Coast doesn't want to accept (Inflationary currency, offices based on merit and not loyalty, labor laws, etc.).

I meant which seats are up in which election. I didn't know that wiki held the Senate and House compositions of older Congresses, good to know!

First I love this! It is similar to how I imagine the game would play out. Having said that, I am confused as to why the disharmony card at the end couldn't have weaken party support during the Presidential election? I feel this would make the game feel less static and more electric. Plus as you advance eventually to the 2016 Election, Hillary Clinton suffered from disharmony from the more leftwing factions of the Democratic party. So employing the card at a time you need to build your strength shouldn't be time limited. But could be given an option of stopping a vote, or momentum.

Also, how does the cash mechanic work. I think i got an idea of how it works, but felt it wasn't being explained well enough in this post.

And say I'm the Democrat and you're the Republican president. I play a legislation card that would hurt your base-and increase my momentum- would there be a way you could veto it by rolling a die and hitting over a certain number(Like 9 or higher).

I meant which seats are up in which election. I didn't know that wiki held the Senate and House compositions of older Congresses, good to know!

I also have a massive book with all of the elections. The Gov, Sen, US House elections aren't very exacting. For instance, whether one of these seats are leaning or not is determined by a combination of cards and if the state is currently mostly Blue or Red. US House elections are done as a group, for the sake of simplicity. Say, if NYC has 36 seats, and 20 are Republican, and 16 are Democrat, then the board shows: R+4 for the US House in that state. Democrats during the midterms or Presidential election year, would attempt to reduce this number. I haven't determined how waves will occur, but my guess is that the Enthusiasm Meter (which will replace the cash and momentum meters) would have to be tapped out, and the other party would have to have negative enthusiasm.

First I love this! It is similar to how I imagine the game would play out. Having said that, I am confused as to why the disharmony card at the end couldn't have weaken party support during the Presidential election? I feel this would make the game feel less static and more electric. Plus as you advance eventually to the 2016 Election, Hillary Clinton suffered from disharmony from the more leftwing factions of the Democratic party. So employing the card at a time you need to build your strength shouldn't be time limited. But could be given an option of stopping a vote, or momentum.

Also, how does the cash mechanic work. I think i got an idea of how it works, but felt it wasn't being explained well enough in this post.

And say I'm the Democrat and you're the Republican president. I play a legislation card that would hurt your base-and increase my momentum- would there be a way you could veto it by rolling a die and hitting over a certain number(Like 9 or higher).

Good questions. Here are my answers:

1) I see that Disharmony Card as affecting only legislative votes. I think the disharmony you are considering will have more to do with the new Enthusiasm Meter, which I will use to replace both Cash and Momentum.

2) As stated above. I'm ridding myself of the cash and momentum meter. Both for the sake of simplicity, and because they both did about the same thing. Enthusiasm drives momentum and cash, so the meter will be the Enthusiasm Meter. This meter will be applied to dice rolls (I didn't use it so much in my playthrough, because I just wanted to generate a rough idea of the game). Enthusiasm is gained through cards or through expending PP (Political Points) to attempt to raise it. The meter is the primary giver and taker of PP, very similar to Command Points in President Infinity, except that events, cards, uses of PP, can increase it. On election day, if one party has much more enthusiasm than the other, then there will be a chance of a wave election. If both parties are the same, there won't be any bonuses or negatives, other than those caused by cards of PP use. If both parties have bad enthusiasm, then a seat could theoretically go to neither party. I'm not sure how to implement 3rd parties, I don't really want to have them in it, for the sake of simplicity.

3) Yes, vetoes are in the game. Here's the process.

Democratic Speaker opts to introduce one of the legislation cards, which seriously aids the Democratic party.

Republican Party announces they will vote against such a bill; Democrats, who have a majority, will vote for the bill.

Democrats have 2/3 on the unity meter (likely 90% support from their party for the bill); Republicans have a 2/3 on the unity meter as well.

Democrats roll for unity, and stay with the expected 90% support. Republicans roll, and also are stuck with 90% support. Assuming the Majority party has enough "Yea votes," with 90% of their votes, and 10% votes from Democrats, it passes. Let's say that it does.

It then goes to the US Senate. They vote. Both parties roll for unity. Democrats get lucky and roll 100% unity, even though their unity meter of 2/3 made 90% a much more likely roll. Republicans roll their likeliest support of 90%. It passes the Senate and is sent to the Republican President.

The President could have threatened veto prior to a vote, and the Speaker could have tabled it until after the election, but he decided to go through the vote. The Republican President vetoes the bill. It goes back to the US House for an override.

Let's say Democrats have 60% of the House and 60% of the Senate. They feel confident of an override if they can convince some Republicans to join them. Both parties roll for unity in the House. Democrats get the expected 90%, but Republicans get really unlucky and roll an unexpected 75%. If we have 450 Reps. 270 are Democrats and 180 are Republicans. Thus, 243 Democrats support an override. 27 Democrats do not. 135 Republicans oppose an override. 45 Republicans support an override. In total, 288 want an override, and 162 oppose an override. This is still only 64%, by not rolling a perfect unity score, Democrats fail to achieve 2/3 support for the override. A perfect unity would have netted a 70% support. A Perfect unity, even with Democrats having 90% of the vote, rather than 75% of the vote, would have also achieved the 2/3. Basically, you have to have perfect unity to override. Let's say that it does get the 2/3 majority.

It then goes to the US Senate, where this difficult process must occur again. Let's say Democrats get 90% unity and Republicans get 75% unity with an unlucky role. Democrats have 54 for override and 6 against. Democrats need 11 Republican senators. With 75% support, only 10 senators join the Democrats, one short of an override! Again, 100% unity would have been key.

You can see why so very few overrides occur. In fact, only two presidents have been regularly overridden--Andrew Johnson and George W. Bush. In both cases, unity was high among the opposition parties.

I do have a question for you. How do you think I can simplify the US House for the sake of a board game. As you can see, there was a lot of math involved, which would a turn off, if it isn't done automatically, as in a PC game. Rather than doing the math, I think I may simplify this by having US House and US Senate not by numbers when voting, but based on whether these houses are even, a majority, a supermajority. Then use the unity meter from there. Basically, for the sake of an override. If even one house is at even, then an override is impossible. If both houses are a majority, then you would need to roll perfect unity twice, and the minority party would have to roll 75% unity twice (the lowest number without a special card). If supermajority, you would have to roll perfect unity twice, but an override could still occur unless the opposing party rolls perfect unity. I guess, for the rare historical instances, if a house of Congress has 2/3 of the seats, there could be Invincible Majority, which would mean a perfect unity roll, automatically wins, or a 90% could win (if Democrats don't roll perfect unity in this latter case).

Basically, what you could help me with is simplifying this, so it includes the least amount of adding and subtracting as possible. Ideally, I'd like each Round (Election or Midterm Election) to take no more than 15 minutes when both players no what they are doing. This way, in an hour, players could play from 1880-1886. Or, to 1894 in two hours. Or from 1880 to 2020 in about 18 hours of game play. It's an epic board game. Obviously, people could choose to stop in whatever election year they wish to stop in, and theoretically, I could create alternative start dates, but for now, the instructions would list 1880 as the only start date. Other possible start dates in the future will be: 1912, 1920, 1932, 1948, 1960, 1968, 1980, 2000, 2008, 2016.